One of my favorite business authors is James Clear, who writes all about habit creation and management. The more I read, the more convinced I am that data management relies heavily on habits.

Here's a quote from Clear: "You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems."

In the case of managing data, "systems" here refers not only to your technology, but also your processes. Translating Clear's quote to data management, your data is managed not to your goals but to your processes. Or more bluntly, the more complex or confusing or crappy your business rules are, the harder it will be to manage your data.

Consider dues management from two different associations:

• Association 1 has individual membership, and each member pays $95 annually.
• Association 2 has individual membership, and each member pays $150...UNLESS there are five or more individuals coming from the same company...UNLESS they are in Massachusetts, where it's four individuals...

Both of these associations have a goal of easily managing their data. But they both fall to the level of their systems. Which association do you think has the easier time of it?